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Bhagavad Gita · 3.4 · Path of Selfless Service·4 of 43

न कर्मणामनारम्भान्नैष्कर्म्यं पुरुषोऽश्नुतेन च संन्यसनादेव सिद्धिं समधिगच्छति

na karmaṇām anārambhān naiṣhkarmyaṁ puruṣho

’śhnute na cha sannyasanād eva siddhiṁ samadhigachchhati

Sanskrit recitation

Why act at all · 3.1–3.9 · Teaching

Translation

Man does not reach actionlessness by not performing actions; nor does he attain perfection by mere renunciation.

Meaning

Actionlessness (Naishkarmyam) and perfection (Siddhi) are synonymous. The sage who has attained to perfection or reached the state of actionlessness rests in his own essential nature as ExistenceKnowledgeBliss Absolute (Satchidananda Svarupa). He has neither necessity nor desire for action as a means to an end. He has perfect satisfaction in the Self.One attains to the state of actionlessness by gaining the knowledge of the Self. If a man simply sits quiet by abandoning action you cannot say that he has attained to the state of actionlessness. His mind will be planning, scheming and speculating. Thought is real action. The sage who is free from affirmative thoughts, wishes, and likes and dislikes, who has the knowledge of the Self can be said to have attained to the state of actionlessness.No one can reach perfection or freedom from action or knowledge of the Self by mere renunciation or by simply giving up activities without possessing the knowledge of the Self. (Cf.XVIII.49).

After Swami Sivananda

Why act at all· 3.1–3.9

Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.

Word-by-word
na
not
cha
and
eva
only
siddhim
perfection
aśhnute
attains
karmaṇām
of actions
anārambhāt
by abstaining from
puruṣhaḥ
a person
sannyasanāt
by renunciation
naiṣhkarmyam
freedom from karmic reactions
samadhigachchhati
attains

Related verses

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